Driving around Tahoe

Fall 2014.  On the second last day of my third trip to California this year, Julie and I drove out to the mountains.  On the recommendation of a friend, we headed for the Nevada side of North Lake Tahoe to check out a place called Incline Village.  It was a beautiful day with fresh snow on the ground.  The views were simply breathtaking!

Joanna and Julie "frolicking" in the snow... err...not quite

Aunty Jo Jo's winter glamour shot :)

Absolutely stunning views of Lake Tahoe

Hanging out in LA

As much as I love spending time with my sister Julie in northern California, waking up to freezing temperatures in winter is really not my cup of tea.  And so we planned a trip to visit friends in the sunnier climate of southern California.  Los Angeles was our first stop.

 

(L-R) Kathleen, Joanna, Julie and Swee Kit

 

Kathleen's place is always my first port-of-call in sunny Los Angeles.  We first met in Calvary Church KL back in 1996 before she married and moved to LA.  Her beaming smiles and warm hospitality makes it much easier to bear the horrible traffic on LA freeways.   This time she arranged for us to have dinner at a classic American diner - Norm's in Whittier - before whisking us to a play about a nun in Las Vegas!

 

We also caught up with Swee Kit, one of Julie's school friends who recently moved to LA to start postgraduate studies at Biola University. 

 

The next day, we spent a whole day hanging out with Kathleen and her family.  Of course, the girls decided to first treat themselves to morning dim sum, foot massage and coffee & cakes before heading home to see Kathleen's boys.

 

Kathleen's darlings:  Samuel (dark blue t-shirt) and Joseph (sky blue t-shirt)

 

These two little boys have a very special place in my heart. It was so good to see how much they've grown and developed.  They showed off their acrobatic agility and prowess by doing a balanced stand on their dad's legs while Joe played dodge ball with a very uncoordinated Aunty Jo Jo. 

 

We took some photos with the boys in the backyard.  Here's me posing with Sam - whom I think has the dashing good looks of a Korean drama star.  Don't you agree?

 

The highlight of my day came after dinner when Joe started cuddling up to me when I sang him lullabies.  So sweet!  Is there any wonder that my heart melts every time I visit these little ones?

 





Sunny San Diego

I love it when a new city springs a surprise and charms me into falling in love with it.  This only ever happens when I'm not expecting anything major and open to possibilities.  San Diego is such a place. It's not as big and loud as LA, or as bohemian and exclusive as San Francisco.  It's just warm, welcoming and quietly confident.

View of San Diego from Coronado Island Ferry

Julie chose a hotel on Coronado Island as our getaway home for a few days and I'm so glad she did! Sunset walks along white sandy beaches really does marvellous things for the soul.

In front of Hotel Gran Del Mar, a gorgeous Victorian-style wooden structure where Marilyn Monroe filmed "Some Like It Hot"

Stepping into Silicon Valley

On 8-9 April this year, I got to take a peek at the innovation geekdom that is Silicon Valley.  As a member of LinkedIn100 - a group of customer advocates for the professional networking giant - I represented Singapore at a conference that took place at LinkedIn's headquarters in Mountain View.

Stepping into Stirling Court on a lovely spring morning, we were treated to the breakfast buffet at the staff restaurant, which had everything you'd expect to find at a professional catering facility in the heart of Silicon Valley.  Healthy, yummy and free!

LinkedIn's headquarters sits within the Google bubble and it was easy to spot all the signs of social media success.  The Toyota Priuses in the parking lot, bicycles whizzing around the campus, engineers in hoodies coding furiously on their MacAirs at picnic tables and park benches.

One of the most memorable segments was a fireside chat with Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn.   The key takeaway for me was an idea from his soon-to-be-published book entitled Tours of Duty.

What a talent or knowledge worker really looks for today is neither lifelong employment nor a freelance nation.  They are looking for tours of duty - a 3-5 year stint where they can contribute their talents towards a specific mission or goal.  At the 3 year-mark, they would welcome a "honest conversation" with their leaders to see if there are enough challenges left in the organization for them to sign up for another tour of duty.  If not, they are introduced to other teams or organizations that would provide them with other "tours of duty".

This idea really resonated with me because it's exactly what I've been doing with my own career over the last 20 years.

Thank you LinkedIn for a wonderful experience!

Hanging out with other LinkedIn100 members in front of a giant Lego logo

17 Mile Drive

On our final morning in Pacific Grove, Julie and I decided to do the 17-Mile Drive to see the lone cypress and take in more views of the magnificent Pacific coastline.  

The Lone Cypress - which I saw for the first time as a backdrop for the Karate Kid.  Remember the scene where Ralph Macchio was practising the "bird move"?

A day in the life of the rich and famous

Carmel by the Sea is the playground of the rich and famous in northern California.  Clint Eastwood was once the mayor of this picturesque little town, which could easily have been transplanted from the south of France, except for one thing.  The copious number of luxury brand-name stores that line the main street.  I succumbed to the call of capitalism and bought myself a pair of Tiffany earrings by Paloma Picasso.  The Luce earrings are a little dose of everyday chic which I shall enjoy very much.

One of my best paintings by a local artist which I saw at a Carmel art gallery.  One which I resisted buying, thank God! ;)

Julie and I stopped at a lovely little patisserie for lunch.  It was full of rich retired white folks and we were definitely the "ethnic minority".

Sunset Symphony

Watching the sun set over the Pacific. So beautiful.

Spiritual Home on the Pacific

After so many visits to California since Julie moved there in 2006, I think I finally found my spiritual home - Pacific Grove.  This beautiful piece of coastline is so inspiring that I find myself completely drawn to its charms.  Been here twice already this year - winter and spring. Perhaps I'll own a home here one day.  Where I can finally settle down to write.  After all, it worked for John Steinbeck who called Pacific Grove home and set many of his novels here.

Julie and I stayed at a cottage close to the beach and enjoyed daily walks, in the mornings and evenings. Loved the springtime blossoms that sprang up to delight the senses at every turn.

A day on the Bay

The bluest sky that ever shone stretched over me that day,

And I could see the ships that rode upon San Francis Bay;

I could see the ships a-sailing with pennants flung elate;

I could see them win the harbor and pass the Golden Gate.

- John Steven McGroarty, "Just California and Other Poems" (1933)

Just call me Scarlett o' Hara



"Gone with the Wind" is one of my favourite movies which started my fascination with the American Civil War (1861 - 1865)  So on this trip to the South, Julie and I decided to stay overnight at one of the most beautiful plantations on the River Road in Mississippi - Oak Alley Plantation.  Two rows of centuries-old oak trees line the way up to a magnificent mansion, built by a rich Creole sugar king named Jacques Roman for his wife Celina Roman in 1837.  After seeing the beautiful antebellum house with my own eyes, I am pretty convinced that the set of "Tara" - Scarlett o' Hara's home - was modelled on Oak Alley.

 

I also came upon a delightful surprise in the form of Andre Jacob, a civil war historian, who has set up a replica of a Confederate camp on the grounds of Oak Alley.  In 20 spellbinding minutes, Andre told us the story of the capture of New Orleans and the major battles that took place around Louisiana in the early days of the Civil War. General Richard Taylor.  General Benjamin Butler.  President Abraham Lincoln.  Such magnificent tales. Music to the ears of history buffs like me.

Aunty Jo Jo with Andre Jacob, who has set up camp on the grounds of Oak Alley

 

Replica of a Confederate General's tent

 

Southern Cookin'

No trip to New Orleans is complete without mentioning the delicious food found in the South, and as a self-respecting blogger, I just have to come up with my own personal list of favourites. This list is purely based on a personal measure called "satisfaction per calorie" so, here goes...

 

 

No.1  Fried Green Tomatoes with Grilled Shrimp from The Creole Grille & Bar  -  This is the first time I've ever had fried green tomatoes and it was to die for!  The crispy battered tomatoes topped with spicy grilled shrimp, egg salad and tartare sauce really made my tastebuds sing for joy.  If this is Southern cookin', I'm happy to do more Southern eatin'  :)



No. 2. Catfish Platter and Potato Salad from The Creole Grille & Bar - I used to laugh when I heard Southern chefs on the Food Channel say, "If we're not sure what an ingredient is, we just fry it!".  Now, I realise why.  They sure know how to fry up a delicious plate of anything.  Including this catfish platter.  It was so good, especially when paired with home-style potato salad. 

No. 3 Duck Po' Boys from Crabby Jacks - When a local waitress tells you that the po' boys from another joint is better than her own restaurant, you don't ask questions.  You just punch in the address into your GPS and head there straight away.  That's how we discovered the best po'boys in New Orleans.  The soft french bread was just the right consistency to soak up all the duck jus, while the pickles and mayonnaise added just the right contrast to the shredded duck meat that was bursting out of this sandwich.  Yumm...

No. 4  Shrimp & Grits from Mother's Restaurant - This place came highly recommended by our hotel concierge and tour bus guide, so we should have known better.  The decor was rather antiquated which I suppose added to the historical cache of the restaurant.  The shrimp and grits were tasty but not as earth-shattering as I had hoped.  In fact, I thought the turnip greens cooked in bacon was the most flavourful item on the plate, although it didn't look very appealing at first sight.  My sister had the Ferdi Po-Boy, which was filled with roast beef, pulled pork and ham.  The one bite she shared with me was very tasty.

 

No. 5 Coffee and beignets from Cafe du Monde - Given the number of times I've heard this place reviewed on the Travel Channel, I really had higher expectations.  The coffee tasted rather watered down, and although the beignets (French doughnuts) were hot and fresh, they tasted quite ordinary.  Much like "you tiao" (Chinese crullers).  Still, the powdered sugar added some fun to the eating experience as I managed to get a lot of it on my face and jacket, much to my sister's amusement!

 

A tale of two cities



Every city has its share of affluent and impoverished neighbourhoods, and New Orleans is no different.  While these contrasts are mostly evident across the economic and social spectrum, in the summer of 2005, it also spelt the difference between life and death.  I'm embarrased to admit that my interest in Hurricane Katrina lasted only as long as the news cycles of the day permitted, but on this visit to New Orleans, I realised for the first time what a devastating impact it had on the community. 

 

The mansions that line St Charles Avenue in the Garden District was home to wealthy American families who intentionally built their homes far away from the crowded Creole neighbourhoods in the French Quarter during the 19th century.  These beautifully preserved houses continue to fetch handsome prices on the market today, and remain relatively flood-free as they are situated on higher ground.

Just a few miles down the road from the Garden District however, is the Lower Ninth Ward where the ravages of Hurricane Katrina are still very evident.  It was only in the last 3 years that the process of rebuilding has begun, and while some streets are benefitting from the largesse of Habitat for Humanity or the Musicians' Village Project, there are still many houses that stand dilapidated and  bear the marks of search dates and body counts.  In this area, the wall of water rose to 20 feet when the levee walls broke, and many who died were trapped in the attics of their homes. 

These new houses in the Lower Ninth Ward were built by the Make It Right Foundation, founded by Brad Pitt.  He was filming "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" in New Orleans when the storm hit and decided to do something to help the community when he realized that ugly politics and bad government was getting in the way of reconstruction.  These new houses are being rebuilt the new way, with solar power and earth-friendly materials.  Way to go, Brad Pitt!
 

N'awlins - The Big Easy

New Orleans feels so different from any other city I've ever visited in the US, largely due to its colonial past being more French than English.   New Orleans was founded by the French in 1718 under the direction of Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, and played major roles throughout American history in the War of 1812 and the Civil War from 1861-1865.  The flavour of the city is decidedly more charming Parisienne with its cathedrals, squares and side streets. It's easy to spend hours wandering in the French Quarter completely beguiled by the lovely architecture that greets visitors at every turn.

 

 

Cathedral St. Louis at Jackson Square, New Orleans

 Charming architecture in the French Quarter

 Aunty Jo Jo enjoying music at Bourbon Street



The Mighty Mississippi is another icon of the Deep South that has fired up my imagination since reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.  I was delighted to catch sight of the genuine steamboats made famous by Mark Twain.  The last time I actually rode in one of these was, I'm sorry to say, in Disneyland...blush...